“Brun is busy painting (paintering, as he says) using watercolours…he sucks the paintbrush and dabs the colour tablets, he tries out the colour on the palm of his left hand, he mixes it around if necessary and goes on to apply it to the paper.”
JEAN GIONO
Le Déserteur © Gallimard
Natives referred to him as ‘The Deserter’, nobody remembered his first name, his family name, or where he came from.
This is the only picture of his protector saint made by Charles-Frédéric Brun. Note the two Swiss flags at the bottom of the Bishop’s stole – maybe to flatter the sponsor, the person for whom the Deserter painted the picture.
PATOIS
Barioâ, blantsî, pënta, repënta, retchyëndre, tchyëndre.
These are verbs used in patois that mean ‘to paint’.
How much did a picture cost in those days?
J.C.A.L. C.F.B.
J.C.A.L. C.F.B.
Jean, Charles, Antoine Locher caused this image to be
made a Brig[non, the 3rd?] April 1859
People called Charles-Frédéric Brun ‘The Deserter’. Can you think of any nicknames or spe-cial names that have been given to people you know?